Chapter 14
***TAYLOR***
Taylor stood watching Emily’s taillights disappear into the distance, knowing that he should be horrified that he’d kissed her, but couldn’t find the appropriate guilt and finally gave up with a sigh.
His once ordered life was suddenly out of control, and he was finding it impossible to get things back together; in fact, things had only gotten worse since he’d started trying.
He wanted to blame Emily, after all the problems only started when she’d shown up in his life, but his conscience wouldn’t let him. The fault was all his.
He had crossed a line with that kiss, changing things between them permanently.
When he stopped to think about it, he didn’t really care; he was tired of fighting the dragon inside him.
If the creature was that determined to have Emily, maybe it was time he gave in and followed his instincts.
His dragon had never been wrong before, and he was beginning to think it wasn’t this time either.
But even as he accepted that Emily might play a bigger role in his life, he couldn’t forget that she was lying to him, hiding something from him.
Until he figured out what it was, he had to be careful.
The flash of headlights reminded him that he was standing in the middle of the parking lot, and the rest of the night came rushing back to him, making him curse when he thought about his friends waiting inside for him.
He could just imagine what they must be thinking, how upset they must all be, and instead of talking to them and smoothing things over, he was out in the parking lot kissing Emily.
Feeling even more guilty than he did before, he turned and headed back inside, preparing himself for his fraternity brothers’ anger.
When he came back inside, there were just seven of them at the table, and none of them looked happy. “Where is everyone else?” he asked, sitting down. “I owe them, well, all of you, an apology. I should have been able to control myself better with Sebastian.”
“Abby took them to meet some of her friends,” Jackson said, narrowing his eyes at him. “Was what Sebastian said true? Are you really related to him?”
“It’s possible,” he said, “but I’ve never met him before.”
“Do you know who he is?” Ryan asked, but didn’t wait for him to answer. “He’s not only the new leader of the Kappas; his grandfather runs the Marbury clan. He’s the alpha in case you don’t know what that means, and everyone says Sebastian is going to take over for him someday.”
They all turned to look at him. “So, what’s the deal?” Gabe asked. “Are you related to them or what?”
“It’s not something I like to talk about, but yes, Arthur Marbury is my grandfather, but he’s not family,” he said, hoping his friends would understand.
“I’ve never even met the man, in fact, if my grandfather had had his way, I would never have been born.
He was furious when he found out that my mother was not only pregnant with me but in love with one of the servants.
He killed my father, and he was planning to kill my mother too.
He had her locked up in her room, but her nanny and a couple of the other servants helped her escape, then ran away themselves afterward. ”
There was a stunned silence around the table, then Cooper cleared his throat. “I can’t believe he let her go,” he said, shaking his head. “Arthur Marbury is known for his ruthlessness. Didn’t he go after her?”
“He tried to, but she was smart, she went straight to Simon Barrington, pleaded for his protection, and he gave it to her,” he said, unable to hide the touch of pride in his voice.
“By the time my grandfather caught up with her, she’d pledged her loyalty to Clan Barrington, and he couldn’t touch her without starting a clan war. ”
“She took a huge risk, Simon could have turned her away,” Aaron said. “She must be a very brave woman. You should be proud of her.”
“I think she was scared and desperate, but I am proud of her and I’m thankful for everything she’s given up for me,” he said, relieved that his friends seemed to understand.
“My mom changed her name as soon as she could, then she buried her past and acted like it never happened. I’ve only been able to get her to talk about it once.
I guess I can’t blame her, it must have been a terrible time in her life, she lost everything she loved and had to start a new life. ”
There was another silence around the table while his friends absorbed what he’d told them, and he let it stretch out a little longer this time.
“I should have told you the truth when Diego started all that trouble last month, but I didn’t think it mattered,” he said.
“We’ve never had anything to do with my grandfather or the rest of the family.
This is the first time I’ve met Sebastain.
My allegiance is to you, all of you, and the clan. ”
“Well, I guess that settles that then,” Walker said, looking around the table. “Are we all in agreement?”
All seven of his friends nodded. “You’re forgiven, but we’re your friends, Taylor. You shouldn’t be afraid to talk to us. We’ll always be here for you,” Jackson said. “Sebastian isn’t going to go away, but you don’t have to fight him on your own. We’re here to help, so lean on us.”
A huge wave of relief washed over him, and he let out a long sigh. “I’m so relieved to hear that. You all are like my family now. I wouldn’t want to mess that up,” he said. :I don’t know what Sebastian is up to, but I’ll gladly take any help I can get.”
“All you have to do is ask,” Gabe said. “We’re a team, we take care of our own.”
There were nods of agreement around the table again, then Malcolm turned to him with a big grin on his face. “Since that’s been settled, let’s move on,” he said. “What’s this we heard about you kissing Emily?”
He gave Aaron a dirty look. “That’s none of your business,” he said. “It was an accident and…”
“An accident,” Jackson interrupted. “How do you accidentally kiss someone?”
“Never mind about that,” Gabe said before he was forced to answer. “What are we going to do about Sebastian? He’s clearly gunning for you, Taylor. You need to watch your back.”
“I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right. I just don’t understand why,” he said. “I haven’t tried to contact them. Until now, only a few people know the truth about who I really am. This could have stayed a secret if Sebastain had kept his mouth shut.”
“That’s what worries me the most, he wanted it out there, he wanted to shock us and possibly undermine our relationship, but I don’t think he’s going to stop there,” Jackson said.
“There’s more going on here than we’re seeing, and until we figure it out, we all have to be on our guard.
If Sebastian wants a fight, we’ll give him one, but it would be nice to know what we’re fighting for. ”
He wondered if he should bring up Emily and her snooping.
After all, she could be part of the plot, whatever it was, then thought of the look on her face when he kissed her and shoved the idea away.
She might be hiding something, but it wasn’t that she was working for the Kappas; he was sure that he would have felt it, would have known she was faking it.
That didn’t make him any less determined to find out Emily’s big secret; if she really was the woman for him, he had to know what she was hiding.
***Emily***
Sunday morning Emily sat at her desk, a cold cup of coffee next to her, watching the clock as she searched the internet for the information she wanted, but it was the last thing she wanted to be doing.
Taylor had turned everything completely upside down the night before, his kiss had awoken a hunger inside her that she knew only he could satisfy, which angered and infuriated her.
Getting involved with the subject of her investigation was a huge mistake, one there was no coming back from.
She just didn’t know how things would work out from here when she admitted the truth to Captain Strattler.
Looking up at the clock, she began to tap her foot nervously, dreading the conversation she was going to be forced to have with her boss.
It was going to be humiliating to admit that she’d fallen for Taylor, but there was no doubt in her mind that’s what was happening.
But even worse, after a sleepless night, she realized that she might not be willing to give him up, even if it meant losing her job, and that made her even angrier.
Feeling a little panicky, she jumped to her feet, planning to refill her cup, but her phone began to chirp, and she froze, her heart starting to pound. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she picked up the phone, wished herself luck, and then connected the call.
“Hi, Captain Strattler,” she said, hoping he couldn’t tell how nervous she was. “Thanks for calling me on Sunday morning.”
“This better be good, Torres; if my wife catches me, there will be hell to pay,” he grumbled. “What have you got?”
“Well, that’s the thing, I have made some progress, but before I fill you in, there’s something I need to tell you,” she said, then paused to get her courage up.
“Sir, the thing is, I might have…Well, I did…I mean, I’ve developed feelings for Taylor.
I didn’t mean for it to happen, I fought it as hard as I could…
but well, I’ve compromised the investigation, and I feel terrible about it.
I don’t know where we go from here, but I’ll be happy… ”
“Are you telling me that you’re romantically involved with our source?” Captain Strattler interrupted. “And you think that’s messed up the investigation?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, her heart sinking at the tone of his voice. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll step down right now. You can find someone else to take over. I don’t know how I’ll pay my tuition, but I’ll find a way.”
“Torres, slow down, you’re getting ahead of me,” he interrupted again. “There’s no reason you can’t stay on the case, just stick to your cover and everything will be fine. In fact, this might work in our favor.”
“But I can’t…I don’t want to lie to him anymore, that’s not…well, a good way to start a relationship,” she stammered. “I think it would be better if you took me off the case.”
There was a brief silence. “Emily, let me explain something to you,” Captain Strattler said.
“Even if I take you off the case, you can’t tell Taylor the truth, he can’t know that we’ve got someone watching the fraternity.
I’m sorry, I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but at this point we’re too far in for you to back out, you’ll have to follow this through and hope that he understands when it’s all over. ”
She hadn’t been prepared for that answer. “Oh, I thought…that is…I assumed you could reassign me,” she said, but she was beginning to see that he was right and let out a sigh. “But I still couldn’t tell him the truth, I would just have to watch while someone else did the job I was assigned.”
“That was my point,” Captain Strattler said, then paused.
“I know this isn’t easy, Torres, but it happens to the best of us; sometimes it’s impossible to avoid.
If you want my advice, bury what you’re feeling, tuck it away until this is finished and you’re free to explore it; otherwise, it might blow up in your face. ”
“Gee, thanks, boss,” she said. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” he said. “Now tell me what else you’ve got, you said you found a name.”
“Marcus Reynolds,” she announced like it should mean something to him.
“He not only owns the fraternity house, he’s on the board of regents for the college, and it gets better, he’s the only one who didn’t go to this school.
I don’t know what it means if anything, but I’m going to spend the day doing some more digging. ”
“Well, you’re making more progress than my people here. Keep it up, Torres,” he said. I’ll want an update in a few days. Keep digging; we’re finally getting somewhere.”
“Yes, sir, I will, I just wish, well…maybe it would be better just to ask Taylor,” she suggested. “I mean, who knows, he might cooperate, and then I wouldn’t have to lie to him.”
“Emily, we’ve been over this,” he said. “Don’t reveal yourself to anyone, especially Taylor. You’re our eyes on the inside, and I want it to stay that way.”
She knew she was stuck and that there was no way out. “Yes, sir, I understand. I won’t blow my cover,” she said. “But Taylor isn’t the bad guy in all this. I can promise you that.”
“Then what’s he hiding?” Captain Strattler asked. “Or have you forgotten about that?”